Today is Sgt. Tom Lowery’s last day at the EPPD after 25 years of service.
At a celebration today, Chief Matt Sackett awarded Sgt. Lowery with the Career Achievement Award. Here is an excerpt from the award:
Sgt. Tom Lowery joined the EPPD as an officer in July of 2000 and was promoted to sergeant in 2008. During his tenure, Sgt. Lowery served on the SWAT team for five years, including two years as a SWAT team leader. He also served as a reserve unit coordinator for five years. Most recently Sgt. Lowery served as the department’s airport liaison, unmanned aerial systems unit supervisor and traffic supervisor.
As the department’s traffic supervisor for the past eight years, Sgt. Lowery demonstrated his strong commitment to traffic safety in multiple ways. Sgt. Lowery served as the department’s liaison to Metro Transit’s Green Line planning and security committee in preparation for the light rail. He also served as the department’s Toward Zero Deaths coordinator, arranging for the department’s participation in traffic safety details that focused on seat belt use, car seats, speed, distracted driving and DWIs. He supervised the department’s grant-funded traffic safety officer and worked to ensure compliance with the grant requirements.
Sgt. Lowery was always quick to praise officers for their outstanding traffic work and made sure they received recognition both in the department and by the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety. He established and maintained relationships with other traffic supervisors in the west metro and with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety which helped provide consistent and effective education and enforcement amongst our neighboring communities. In addition, he was involved in the Hennepin Chiefs Traffic Advisory Committee for many years and hosted that group’s meetings in Eden Prairie.
In October 2018, Sgt. Lowery started the department’s Unmanned Aerial Systems unit, also known as UAS. The UAS program grew from one drone to six under his leadership and the Eden Prairie UAS team is now a leader in the UAS field. Tom worked closely with Flying Cloud Airport to ensure all safety measures were taken and strong relationships were built. He maintained an active role in the UAS field throughout Minnesota and helped guide dozens of other agencies to create their own UAS teams. In 2024, the UAS team deployed drones 91 times.
Throughout his tenure, Sgt. Lowery showed through his work that he was dedicated to improving public safety in Eden Prairie, in particular on our roadways. His passion for safe driving is unrivaled in the department and will be missed.
We wish you all the best in retirement Sgt. Lowery!
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